Fiesta, ever old and ever new

Fr. Leo Pabayo

 EVER old but ever new. This is what the fiesta is. It is the same fiesta every year but there is something about it that is not the same every year.

What is it that makes the fiesta new and at the same time old every year?

Every fiesta we have the usual buntings decorating the streets of the city. Then there is the usual trade fair that exhibit various products coming from the various entrepreneurs in the city. There are the display of farm products, the display of ornamental plants, etc.. Once again the streets will resound with the beat of the drums and sounds of the bugles and lyres as the parade of students, workers and other groups wind through the streets. The streets will also be the site delightful street dancing and the “floats” of all kinds of sizes, colors and shapes and many more.

We have this every year during fiesta. But in another sense there is something new in them.

What is new is the spirit in which they are done. Because people love to do these activities every fiesta time they do them in new creative ways and with renewed enthusiasm and gusto. The new that comes from them is the renewed spirit of the joy, of fellowship, and the other human virtues and values that come out during the fiesta activities.

How much of these have been or are being manifested in this year’s fiesta we come to know later.

However we already get some idea during the activities of the fiesta. There will be judges who will give their judgment on the performances of the fiesta in the streets and other venues. The judges will then give corresponding awards. Their judgment will be a good gauge on how the general spirit of the fiesta went this year. Everyone however will have their own opinion on how the fiesta is going.

The quality of all the activities of the fiesta will largely depend on how well planned and organized they are. But more important are the choice of the themes that have been conceived and projected in various ways to give meaning to the celebration. These will be seen in the floats, programs and other activities of the fiesta. These themes are expected to project the virtues that are supposed to characterize, us, the people of Cagayan do Oro. The city will as usual be portrayed as the city of Golden Friendship. This is expected to be the overarching theme.

There will be subthemes that will be shown in the floats to make known the epigrams and mottos of the schools and other institutions service institutions. The business sector will surely be in the midst of it all to advertise their products.

The city government will most likely project subthemes of the city administration, like “Hapsay Cagayan,” or the theme of the presidency of President Aquino which has been adopted by the ruling Liberal Party, namely, “Ang Daang Matuwid”. The local government will surely broadcast the subthemes of its administration such as,”Hapsay Cagayan” or or “Gikan sa katawhan, balik sa katawhan”. I wonder if the old theme of DepEd, “Edukasyon and Solusyon”, will be projected in this fiesta, along with “Zero Waste Management” or “Saver Our Forest”.

How well these themes and subthemes are projected in this fiesta says something about the quality of this year’s fiesta celebration and the current spirit of our city.